Time to assess who we are

 Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11  • Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16  • Romans 10:8b-13  • Luke 4:1-13

In the first week of Lent, Debie Thomas takes us into the wilderness and temptations with Jesus.

The following is an excerpt from her "In the Barren Places."

"The Gospel tells us that Jesus doesn't choose to enter the wilderness. The Spirit leads him there.  But here's the kicker: Jesus chooses to stay until the work of the wilderness is over.  We don’t always choose to enter wildernesses, either.  We don’t volunteer for pain, loss, danger, or terror.  But the wilderness happens.  Whether it comes to us in the guise of a hospital waiting room, a thorny relationship, a troubled child, a sudden death, or a crippling panic attack, the wilderness appears, unbidden and unwelcome, at our doorsteps.  It insists on itself.  And sometimes — can we bear to ponder this? — it is God’s own Spirit who drives us into the barren places amidst the wild beasts.  Does this mean that God wills bad things to happen to us?  That God wants us to suffer?  I don’t think so.  Does it mean that God can redeem even the most painful periods of our lives, if we choose to stay and pay attention?  Does it mean that our deserts can become holy even as they remain dangerous?  Yes.

What does this mean for us as we begin our Lenten journeys this year?  Maybe it means it’s time to follow Jesus into the desert.  It’s time to stay and look evil in the face.  Time to hear evil’s voice, recognize its allure, and confess its appeal. It’s time to decide who we are and whose we are.  Remember, Lent is not a time to do penance for being human.  It’s a time to embrace all that it means to be human.  Human and hungry.  Human and vulnerable.  Human and beloved."